Faculty Role in Academic Advising

Faculty members advise and mentor students as an important component of their teaching. By serving as academic advisers and mentors, faculty provide effective guidance so students can maximize their educational opportunities and make critical decisions regarding education, career, and life goals. Faculty mentor students to help them become responsible citizens of their profession and the global community. Successful academic advising depends on the ability of the adviser and advisee to recognize the nature of the academic advising process, address specific components of academic advising and together be responsible in the advising process.

“Faculty members are responsible for teaching effectively by employing useful methods and approaches that facilitate student learning. Faculty members design courses to achieve clearly defined learning objectives with appropriate evaluation tools and teaching methods. Advising and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students concerning educational and professional opportunities, degree plans, and career goals are also important. Faculty members may educate students through distance learning. Faculty members may pursue the scholarship of education, so as to improve teaching of faculty members and other educators, such as primary and secondary teachers, or extension agents. Other faculty members through outreach instruct non-traditional audiences in off-campus settings to improve professional expertise and public understanding.” (Faculty Handbook, 2012, 2.22 Teaching)

The assigned workload for full-time faculty consists of a combination of teaching, advising, research / scholarship / creative activity, and institutional and/or public service. The individual mix of these responsibilities is determined annually by the department head, in consultation with each faculty member, with review and approval of the dean and chief academic officer. (Faculty Handbook, 2012, 3.7 Faculty Duties and Workload)